Pierce was the first
county seat for
Shoshone County, which was established in January 1861 in Washington Territory and for a most of its first year included most of present-day Idaho and
Wyoming.[7][8] The
Pierce Courthouse, constructed in 1862, is Idaho's oldest public building.[9]Idaho Territory was established in 1863, and the county seat moved north to the
Silver Valley in
Murray in 1884 (and to
Wallace in 1898). Present-day Clearwater County, formed in 1911, was part of Shoshone County until 1904, when it was annexed by Nez Perce County.

Demographics

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $34,318, and the median income for a family was $36,667. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $24,375 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $13,980. About 14.7% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the
census[2] of 2010, there were 508 people, 235 households, and 150 families residing in the city. The
population density was 619.5 inhabitants per square mile (239.2/km2). There were 296 housing units at an average density of 361.0 per square mile (139.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.3%
White, 1.8%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian, 1.8% from
other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 235 households of which 18.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were
married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.67.

The median age in the city was 51 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.9% were from 25 to 44; 39.8% were from 45 to 64; and 22.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.7% male and 45.3% female.